0000000001325278
AUTHOR
Andrea Perino
Rewilding complex ecosystems: Restore function not state
Rapid global change and increasing human use of resources have led to the widespread loss and degradation of many ecosystems, and these trends are projected to maintain or even increase. Counteracting these trends requires flexible conservation approaches to maintain and restore ecosystem functioning and to enhance ecosystem resilience. We argue that rewilding, as a dynamic and low-intervention approach to conservation, can complement and support conservation efforts to protect species and habitats of conservation concern. We identify functional diversity and ecosystem complexity, natural disturbance and stochasticity, and connectivity and dispersal, as three important domains related to ec…
Measuring progress towards rewilding
Human domination of land has transformed ecosystems, modified ecological processes and influenced biodiversity composition across most of the terrestrial biosphere. Nevertheless, this global change does not necessarily translate into a total depletion of natural values. Innovative conservation actions are emerging as a promising strategy to enhance biodiversity, ecological resilience and ecosystem service delivery, as well as to retain ecological and evolutionary potential. For instance, rewilding projects have gained increasing attention from scientists, conservationists, practitioners, decision-makers and the media. Recovering the natural dynamics of ecosystems requires increasing ecosyst…